The 'CALENDAR OF THE SOUL' Dr. Rudolf Steiner gave out the 'Soul-Calendar' in 1912, consisting of 52 meditative mantras to enable us to experience the 'astral' (soul) events occurring within us as well as in Nature during the year, starting with the first mantra every year on Easter Sunday. We experience all this unconsciously all through the year, but these meditative verses enable us to become conscious of it. The mantras for each week are well known to many students of Steiner, but the original 'Calendar ' also had 12 Images of the Zodiac, to be meditated with each month (to sense the working of the 'solar' forces in the cosmos), plus a listing of the Moon's phases & position in the signs each night (for sensing the 'lunar' forces), and a list of dates of births and deaths of spiritual figures and dates of events to contemplate on specific days. Here's the Soul-Calendar restored to this complete form, with some details added on the planets in the night sky this week as well.

******* THE ZODIAC IMAGE The Sun, according to the Doctor, is under the influence of the constellation SAGITTARIUS from Dec. 1st to Jan. 4th in our era. A version (done by Margaret Roessler) of a new symbolic image of the ARCHER from the original Soul-Calendar (created originally by artist Imma von Eckherdstein from Dr. Steiner's sketches & indications) ----in an approximation of the color he said corresponded to the sign (one of 5 shades of purple we can't yet actually perceive) ---- is attached to this e-mail.

THE WEEK'S MANTRA: For those not familiar with the use of mantras: The anthroposophic spiritual path uses symbolic images, like the Zodiac image (called 'Imaginations' ), to awaken 'spiritual sight', and mantras ('Inspirations' ) to open 'spiritual hearing.' The meaning of the words of a mantra at first sight is not important, but rather what happens when you recite it and enter with deeper soul-forces into its inner experience. Also, these mantras were created in the German language and have their rhythms in that, so learning an English version is just a step to using the original; I've kept close to it in translating, so anyone can easily go from English to German.

*M A N T R A# 3 8 (CHRISTMAS) *

Ich fuhle wie entzaubert

Das Geisteskind im Seelenschoss;

Es hat in Herzenshelligkeit

Gezeugt das heilige Weltenwort

Der Hoffnung Himmelsfrucht,

Die jubelnd wachst in Weltenfernen

Aus meines Wesens Gottesgrund.

"I feel set free from a spell

The Spirit-Child in the Soul's Womb;

It has in Heart's Clear Light

Begotten the holy World-Word,

Of Hope the Heavens' Fruit,

To joyously grow into World-Farnesses

Out of my Essence's Godly-Ground."

An interpretation of the mantra:

This week, what was "placed under a spell" in mid-summer (the inner, spirit-self, submerged then in sense-experience) is released from it, and we give birth to a new consciousness that will grow out into the world all the year to come.